


eternity with you

by timelessidyll



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Greek Mythology, Fluff? Maybe, M/M, Mentions of Blood, THE CHARACTER DEATH IS TEMPORARY, THIS IS IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER, art nerd hyuck became pol sci major hyuck, how to tag when it's pointless plot, star-gazing!, uhhh swearing?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-05
Updated: 2019-01-05
Packaged: 2019-09-25 12:52:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17121731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/timelessidyll/pseuds/timelessidyll
Summary: “humans are the mortality that gods fear the most, donghyuck. i may be powerful, but i’m more imperfect than you could ever be. mortality never has been and never will be imperfection.”donghyuck only wanted more time with mark.





	eternity with you

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Belgium](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Belgium/gifts).



> HIHIHI I'M BACK WITH AN ACTUAL FIC CAN YOU B E L I E V E. apologies to my assignment, i'm a mess and should've had this posted sooner. anyway, i hope you enjoy!

_“donghyuck?”_

 

_“yeah?”_

 

_“do you see cassiopeia?”_

 

_“the upside down lady? yeah, i see her.”_

 

_“she was the mother of andromeda, and boasted of her beauty so vainly that poseidon grew spiteful.”_

 

_“ok?”_

 

_“she could never match you, however.”_

 

_“mark!”_

 

_“i only speak the truth, donghyuck. while cassiopeia’s eyes only held selfishness and darkness, you’re the light and selflessness that this forsaken world needs the most.”_

 

_“humans aren’t without flaws, mark. i’m not perfect, not how you are.”_

 

_“humans are the mortality that gods fear the most, donghyuck. i may be powerful, but i’m more imperfect than you could ever be. mortality never has been and never will be imperfection.”_

 

donghyuck remembered the first time he’d met mark as clearly as if the photograph of their meeting were in his head. he was at a museum, breezing through the ancient greece exhibit because he’d seen displays like this in every city he’d ever been in. he was about to leave for the polynesian exhibit, far more interested in the history of the island dwellers, when he spotted someone about to touch a thousands-of-years-old clay pot. being the art fanatic he was, he couldn’t resist snapping at him to keep his hands off. the man – a fully-grown adult, donghyuck had thought angrily at the time, who should know better than to touch these artifacts – had looked up in surprise and tilted his head curiously.

 

“this is peculiar,” the man said, loudly enough that donghyuck heard him but didn’t attract the attention of anyone else. it only deepened his confusion. “you shouldn’t have noticed me.”

 

“what does that mean?” donghyuck asked, narrowing his eyes. “who wouldn’t have noticed you? you were about to touch a delicate artifact!”

 

the man shrugged nonchalantly. “it’s only a pot. there are millions on these on olympus.” some of donghyuck’s confusion disappeared when he came to the conclusion that the man was crazy.

 

“i have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said with a light voice and steely tone, “but i don’t think that you should touch that pot. or any other display in this museum.”

 

“you don’t believe me,” the man pointed out, raising an eyebrow. “why are you so doubtful?”

 

“because you must be insane,” donghyuck snorted, crossing his arms. “olympus is a mountain in greece with no permanent establishments, and you claim that there are millions of pots on it. a nearly uninhabited mountain.” the man tilted his head again.

 

“i wonder how you can see me and still believe so little,” he mused, looking donghyuck up and down before walking toward him. donghyuck, for his part, recoiled aggressively and snarled at the approaching man.

 

“hey, back off!” he hissed, trying to keep his voice low to avoid disrupting the quiet of the exhibit. “i’ll scream if i have to.”

 

“i hope i don’t sound too presumptuous, but no one will hear you. in the presence of a god, reality bends to their will to keep them from prying eyes.” he couldn’t understand anything the man was saying, but their immediate surroundings were glowing now, a bright gold that almost faded to silvery light. he was still doubtful, still didn’t quite believe the man’s words, but there was something ethereal about him now. the light reflected off of his black hair in twinkles and glimmers that captivated donghyuck for reasons he didn’t understand.

 

“do you believe me now?” he hadn’t realized their surroundings had melted away and reformed, hadn’t noticed the changing sounds around him. where there had once been quiet and the occasional tapping against a linoleum floor, there were now the cries of seagulls and the quiet roar of the sea. he tore his eyes from the – god’s? – face and looked down at his shoes to see sand and driftwood.

 

“you’re either a really good hypnotist or i’m dreaming,” donghyuck answered in a shaky voice, and it only served to make the – god? – laugh.

 

“allow me to introduce myself. i am dinlas, the guardian god of a long-forgotten city that was home to warriors who sought healing and comfort after battle. you may call me mark.”

 

donghyuck took a moment to let it settle in. “right. of course the god has a normal human name like mark.”

 

“i chose it because the name of my city was lamark. it seemed fitting to keep the name with me after it descended into ruin.”

 

“i didn’t ask for a tragic backstory, but sure.”

 

_“what’s the story of gemini?”_

 

_“ah, castor and pollux. they were truly of the same womb, down to the last mischievous hair on their heads. they were brave argonauts, i admit.”_

 

_“how did they become constellations?”_

 

_“pollux was a demigod with the blood of zeus in his veins, and castor was but a mortal. his love for his brother led him to beg zeus to provide his brother immortality when he died, and so he united the two of them in heaven.”_

 

he never managed to shake mark off after their first encounter. at work, mark happened to stop by the coffee shop he worked at. at classes, mark happened to be in the civics building while he was in political sciences. at the park, mark happened to stop by with his dog, who he assured donghyuck was not a three-headed demon and was a rescued stray from the local animal shelter. it only made him feel a little better.

 

“why do you keep following me?” he asked tiredly as he sat down on a park bench. mark’s dog, lamarck – with a “c” before the “k”, as mark had very pointedly informed him – rested its paws on his legs and lifted its head to sniff his face. he didn’t make any move to push it away.

 

“fascination, i suppose. there aren’t many mortals with the ability to see us.” donghyuck frowned and huffed, rubbing lamarck behind the ears.

 

“well there’s nothing interesting about me beyond that.”

 

mark hummed thoughtfully and sat down beside him. “you don’t think very highly of yourself. strange. you have the aura of a powerful warrior.”

 

“can you stop talking in riddles,” he retorted. “i don’t want to think any harder about the fact that you’re a god.”

 

“i was unaware i spoke in riddles. however, i did not lie. your aura is that of apollo’s, although much dimmer and without the fanfare of a god’s.” donghyuck sighed again and stared into lamarck’s eyes.

 

“he’s crazy,” he whispered to the dog confidantly, well-aware that mark was sitting just next to him and could hear everything he said.

 

it became normal to have a god tagging along with him on his daily affairs. it wasn’t a regular recurrence, and there were days where mark disappeared without a trace save for a note taped to his door to take care of lamarck for a designated period. the first few times, donghyuck couldn’t help but feel slightly disconcerted that mark assumed he would listen to him, but he quickly got over it. it wasn’t a huge favor to take care of a dog like lamarck. it wasn’t very fussy and remained calm in his apartment, so although he had to vacuum more frequently, he began to enjoy having lamarck in his care.

 

he began to notice that when mark returned, he would have a far-away look in his eyes. he was always thinking of something else, but he tried not to ask about it. it was never his place.

 

“have you ever wondered where your father was?” mark asked once.

 

“of course not,” donghyuck responded immediately. his grip tightened around his pen. “he was an asshole who i never knew, and he never deserved my time.” mark stared at him for a long minute as he continued to take notes for his patronage and corruption exam.

 

“it may have been for a reason.”

 

“listen, mark, i’m not sure how much experience you have with absentee fathers, but it fucking sucked to watch your mom stress over providing you a good life when she was a single mother.” mark was silent again, and then he nodded.

 

“i suppose i couldn’t understand. i may have been their unwanted child, but at least i had a father figure to lead me and my true father eventually gave me repentance.” donghyuck felt his heart squeeze and he frowned.

 

“that sounds rough.”

 

“it was eons ago,” mark shrugged. “i’ve had time to rage and accept.” donghyuck set his gaze back on his notes and sighed.

 

“yeah, but it still sucks.”

 

“we all have struggles, donghyuck. you learn to work around and over them.” mark stood up suddenly. “would you like to go to the bakery? we’ve been in this library for hours.”

 

he raised an eyebrow. “why would it matter to you? you’re a god. you don’t have an obligation to stay with me.”

 

“you’re interesting,” mark said in lieu of an answer, and donghyuck quirked an eyebrow.

 

“am i?”

 

“more interesting than the underworld at least. would you like to go?” he repeated, and donghyuck couldn’t help the slight giddiness he felt. he played it off like he was only excited to get away from political science, but it was nice to spend time with mark for no real reason.

 

_“orion was a mighty hunter, but he fell into obscurity after his incident with gaia. you can see him with his bow as he hunts the scorpion.”_

 

_“why did he anger gaia?”_

 

_“he allowed his fame and talent to go to his head and threatened to kill all the animals on earth. not dissimilar to what i myself did.”_

 

_“you only wanted your father to accept you, as dinlas. as mark, you have a fresh slate to define yourself.”_

 

“donghyuck, it is no mistake that you are able to see me.” donghyuck looked up from his coffee. he’d taken his break to sit down and talk to mark, but the god hadn’t said a word until now. he wondered why he’d brought up that topic again.

 

“oh? then what is that reason?” mark made sure he was looking him directly in the eyes as he spoke.

 

“you are apollo’s direct descendant. your father was never around was because he died before you were born.”

 

donghyuck blinked. he glanced from his cappuccino to mark and back, then set his cup down breathed out heavily. it was irrational to get so upset, but any mention of his father boiled his blood. “why the fuck am i supposed to believe that.” he raised hard eyes to look at mark again. “i get that you’re a god and what the fuck not, but that sounds fucking impossible. i can’t be the descendant of a god.”

 

“your shock is understandable, but i tell you only the truth.” mark’s voice was flat as he tried to convince donghyuck. “causing chaos doesn’t bring me joy as it used to,” he said, finally letting a small sneer color his voice. donghyuck flinched unconsciously, taking a moment to gather himself. he didn’t want to believe it, couldn’t have believed it even if he tried. it would unravel everything he had ever believed his father to be, and he didn’t want to ruin the comfort of his life.

 

“fuck,” he whispered, standing up abruptly. “i can’t deal with this right now,” he mumbled angrily, snatching his cup off the table and stalking back to the counter. mark didn’t follow, but donghyuck could feel his eyes tracking him. it was a strange feeling that made him shudder at the time.

 

“i’m not abnormal,” donghyuck whispered to himself. “there’s nothing strange about me. the only weird thing that’s ever happened was seeing a chaos god in the museum, and i can get over that.” he set the coffee pot down and gripped the edge of the counter to steady himself. he needed to stop thinking about it.

 

he didn’t, in fact, stop thinking about it. if anything, he thought harder about it. after mark left, after his shift ended, after he returned to his apartment. he thought about how mark had changed over the past few months, as his periods of absence grew more and more frequent and his eyes grew more calculating. he was no idiot. he knew dinlas was the god of hatred and chaos. but while he knew dinlas loved chaos, he knew mark didn’t. mark was the god he was when lamark was still his treasure, when he protected the city as if it was his own godly ichor.

 

mark had no reason to lie to him when it would be so easy to say his father was still alive and with another woman, which would have infinitely increased his hatred. at least if he only knew his father had disappeared, he wouldn’t have the knowledge of what he was doing. but he had gone so far to say he was dead because of the blood of a god that still ran through their family. had gone so far as to tie him in with it. had gone so far as to allow him to have time to himself to understand the implications of his words, which made so much sense and yet none at all.

 

he picked up his phone and called mark.

 

“hyuck.”

 

“why did you tell me?”

 

“because it’s more dangerous than not knowing at all.”

 

“i’m not even a full demigod,” donghyuck hissed into the mic, leaning back against the counter of his kitchen. “why would i be in danger?”

 

“no matter how diluted, the blood of a god is always tempting.”

 

he tried not to be too paranoid about it.

 

he should have been because he was running through an alley he knew became a dead end, and there was a snake behind him with fucking ram horns on its head chasing him, and the only thought he had was, “mark was right,” and he was rarely able to admit that. he thought, only briefly, of the fact that he would miss their not-quite-dates, not because he wasn’t sure they were dates but because he wasn’t sure if mark even liked him. gods were finicky beings, and there was no guarantee his mortal life was any more than a blip in his eternal existence. which reminded him – he was mortal, and this was likely his end.

 

_“do you like the heavens this much, or are you humoring me?”_

 

_“you think so little of me, hyuck. of course i have an interest in the heavens. after all, that’s where we lose many of the heroes who would otherwise come to elysium. hades was always particular over how zeus handed out godly tokens of heroism. he was even more upset by the ones who became gods themselves.”_

 

_“felt absolutely cheated by those, hm?”_

 

_“of course. he wasn’t the god of the dead souls for no reason.”_

 

it’s mark – of course, it’s always mark – who saved him in the end. like the time he forgot his umbrella at home and mark offered to walk with him under his own even though his apartment was across the city. like the time he almost slept through his supreme court and justice lecture and he appeared in his bedroom to wake him up. like the times when he was so sleep deprived he almost put the wrong beans in the coffee pot and mark would magically speak at exactly the right moment to make him realize his blunder. except this time the rescue was more harrowing, more final. donghyuck realized, in the back of his tumultuous thoughts, that if mark hadn’t arrived, he would’ve undoubtedly died – just as his father had.

 

it left a strange taste in his mouth, the knowledge that he had a target floating over him.

 

mark turned to him, and the grim expression melted into something more – concerned? he doesn’t know why a god, an immortal being who never needed to give him the time of day, would ever be worried about him. he felt a snap in his mind.

 

“why did you save me?” he rasped, his voice hoarse from running. “why did you bother?”

 

mark’s eyebrows furrowed. “why shouldn’t i have?” he looked confused. donghyuck didn’t blame him. by all accounts, he should’ve been grateful and thanking him, but all he felt was anger. not hatred, but a senseless irrelevancy. “you were in danger.”

 

“because i’m nothing to you. i’m a soul with a countdown over my head, and as i waste away you stay the same.” his voice rose. “why are you pretending you care about me? you only stayed because you thought my ability to see you was interesting, so why did you stay?” he wasn’t hysterical, but he wasn’t calm. he was walking the line, a hurricane that was containing itself and dying away at once. “why are you giving me false hope?”

 

“false hope? hyuck, i don’t under–”

 

“–of course you don’t fucking understand!” he shouted. he didn’t care anymore. it hurt too much, to tiptoe the line of wanting to be closer and feeling pushed away because of mark’s very being. “you wouldn’t fucking understand! you’ve never had to suffer with wondering if close is too much and if being apart is too little to make you stay! mark you’re–” he stopped to take a breath. “–you’re too fucking far away from me. i’ll never be able to give you what you want. i’m not even sure what the fuck it is you want from me. years for me are seconds for you so why. do. you. bother?”

 

mark stared at him for far too long and donghyuck felt the breath punched out of him.

 

“fuck this. don’t follow me, dinlas. in fact, it would probably be best for both of us if you just left altogether.”

 

it hurt more than donghyuck cared to show when mark didn’t say a word as he walked back down the alley, toward his apartment where he could scream in his own solitude, even if it did ruin the neighbor’s day.

 

two days passed by before mark contacted him again, and another day passed before donghyuck deemed it worthy to reply. he was exhausted of the emotional baggage of trying to work out his feelings for a god, especially when said god never made a point to make his own feelings apparent. but the message he’d gotten was short and lackluster, only the words “meet me at the café,” and donghyuck almost considered not following through. but he was a weak, weak mortal, and he gave.

 

he was at the table for all of two seconds before mark sauntered in, dressed up as he usually was. black shirt, black pants, and a god-awful denim jacket to match. it was through the subtlety of his outfit that he tried to let his nature shine through, but donghyuck ignored it for the moment to think about how he was a making a mistake.

 

in human terms, mark was far out of his league. in godly terms, he was far out of his lifespan. in universal terms, mark was too unattainable to ever be considered as a serious dating prospect. and yet here he was, about to give him a chance to turn it all around as if that would miraculously change their limited time together.

 

“i have something to show you,” he said instead of a proper greeting, but donghyuck took it in stride. it was a habit of mark’s to simply start talking; he was never one for formalities. as he came closer, the familiar glow surrounded them, and donghyuck was reminded of the first time they had met and mark had transported them to the sea. he wondered where they would go this time.

 

when the glow faded, it was dark. they were on a hill and above them, the starry sky stretched out for miles and miles. he wasn’t quite sure where they were, however, because he saw constellations together in the sky that occurred during opposite times of the year.

 

“where did you bring us?”

 

“this was where my city stood. the memory of it rests in olympus, where the heavens stretch out in all directions.”

 

“why?”

 

“i wanted to show it to you. there was no other reason, except perhaps to convince you.” donghyuck cocked an eyebrow skeptically.

 

“what do you have to convince me of?”

 

“you never asked where i disappeared to.”

 

“it was never my place to ask. you could do whatever you wanted, mark. i was never entitled to the knowledge of it.”

 

“it was because i was trying to figure you out, donghyuck.” he must have looked ready to interrupt because mark silenced him with a look. “i wanted to figure out why i was so interested in you because i’d never found anyone so intriguing before. gods feel either too much or nothing at all, hyuck, and meeting you was the first time i felt the former.

 

“i was always gone, asking other gods and creatures what it meant, but it all came back to the same thing. infatuation and love. those were two things i had spent my entire life avoiding, did you know? they were the domain of my mother, half of my loathsome blood, and i spitefully ignored all that related to her.

 

“it’s strange how i was eventually forced to meet her. there came a point when no one else was able to help me through my dilemma.”

 

“how was it?”

 

“it would have been preferable to face torture at the hands of the furies. but i suppose it opened my eyes. i never would’ve attempted to start any sort of courting with you otherwise.”

 

he blinked. “courting?”

 

“was i not clear? i did bring you gifts and attempted to arrange shows of affection.” he thought harder about the past few months.

 

“is that what the keychains were supposed to be?”

 

“i thought you would enjoy the ones of the sun.”

 

“i mean, i did, but. i didn’t think you were trying to court me.” he felt a little dazed. perhaps he’d been looking for something too human within mark. it would have been impossible to find since mark was nowhere near close to it. he laid down on the grass and stared up at the sky. “i don’t want to think about that right now. tell me about the stars.”

 

“as you wish, my sun.” he tried not to let the nickname affect him, but the blush that spread across his cheeks said otherwise.

 

_“how dare you take me away when you knew he was dying.”_

 

_“it was inevitable, dinlas. it was his time.”_

 

_“i could’ve saved him!”_

 

_“saved him for another minute? another day? another week? what would you have done if the attacks had grown more frequent? you couldn’t remain with him his whole life.”_

 

_“let me have him back.”_

 

_“i can’t bring back the dead, dinlas. it’s not my role. it’s no one’s role.”_

 

_“please, father. you know as well as i do that gods feel too much or feel nothing at all. love and hate are not so different in that regard.”_

 

_“even if you loved him, there are certain rules.”_

 

_“father, i have never asked anything of you beyond your generosity. allow me this one request.”_

 

death felt nothing like he thought it would. it was sudden, abrupt. he didn’t slip into non-existence like he always thought and feared he would. instead, it was as if his final breath, taken through gasping lungs that tried to desperately pump the blood out of them and a mangled throat, were but the vestiges of sleep that drifted away as he woke up. waking up was an experience as well. he felt, to an extent, weightless and unburdened. around him were rough gray and blue stones and walls, different from the forest the hounds had chased him through, and there was a river flowing by peacefully ahead of him.

 

he wondered, in a moment of strange clarity, why mark hadn’t saved him. it caused a strange sinking in his chest, where his heart would’ve been if he were alive. it struck him that he was truly dead, without a beating heart and need to breathe, and he felt panic settle in him. he’d been too young, had too much to do.

 

why hadn’t mark been there?

 

it took time, but donghyuck eventually figured out how to cross the river. it involved a bit of haggling with the boatman to accept three suckers in his pocket as a fee, but it had worked out in the end. from there, he listlessly traveled through the underworld, as he had found out it was called. he wasn’t sure where to go or why it even mattered where he went. he had so many unanswered questions.

 

it wasn’t so much his death that pained him as it was that mark had never shown up. he couldn’t understand why. hadn’t he said he loved him? had he lied? what was the point of giving him so much hope only to crush it all? it must have been the chaos in him. that was it, donghyuck decided. it was because he had never held any feelings for donghyuck anyway. he had only been searching for his next pitiful target.

 

that was how he existed. as a mournful ghost wandering the fields, unsure of what had become of him and his love.

 

how he arrived at the palace was beyond him. he knew from speaking to the occasional demon that the palace of the king was impossible for normal ghosts to find, much less approach. but he supposed since he’d already become an exception to both of those rules, it couldn’t hurt to go inside. the interior was as foreboding as the exterior – hard gray and black walls and minimal furniture and decorations. it felt detached and cold, and donghyuck regretted his decision the further he walked in.

 

he found, by some fortunate accident, the throne room. in it he found, by some unfortunate accident, the king of the underworld himself. he froze, too shocked and terrified to move, but hades merely stared at him as if he was a rare lab specimen, ready for dissection.

 

“so you’re the mortal my son has sulked for.” son?

 

“i–who?” donghyuck stuttered, too shocked to spare formalities even for the king of the dead, who was now technically his king too.

 

“i suppose you were unaware that i was dinlas’ father. well, more of a father to him than ares ever was.” donghyuck had some trouble processing that, but he didn’t dare interrupt. “he was quite upset that i wouldn’t allow him to protect you. but the fates had chosen your destiny, and there was nothing he could have done in the end.” it made more sense, suddenly, why mark couldn’t have saved him. he wasn’t meant to live. it was a strange sensation, to realize the timer of his existence had been so short to begin with.

 

“he wouldn’t have it, however,” hades continued. “he traveled to olympus to ask for a blessing. so i must ask you to stay until he returns.” donghyuck assumed he had no real say in the matter.

 

_“do you regret loving me? for reminding you of your mother?”_

 

_“it was never you who reminded me of my mother, hyuck. it was the emotion itself. but i could never regret feeling it for you.”_

 

_“cheesy.”_

 

_“only for you, my sun. for you, i would ravage a thousand cities.”_

 

becoming immortal was unlike anything he had ever endured. it was agony beyond measure, of dying and being reborn in a cycle that never seemed to end as his body got used to living for eternity. it was seeing the history of olympus as it stood flash through his mind and tell him _this is what it means to be a god_. he wanted to scream and yet he couldn’t. he knew he had eyes on him: the eyes of mark, hades, the gods who were watching from the top of olympus. they all waited to see if he would survive the transformation from mortal to something more, and he wouldn’t give the satisfaction that it pained him. when it faded into a dull ache throughout his body, he assumed the process was complete.

 

he didn’t need to breathe as a spirit, so it wasn’t a shock that he didn’t need to breathe as a god. he still could, he supposed, if he wanted to blend in with the humans. he couldn’t quite bring himself to meld the ideas of human and mortal. his blood felt – fiery? would that be the right way to describe? it wasn’t quite a fire inside of him, but it burned as it flowed through him. he wondered if every god felt it. he wondered if it had been a constant reminder to mark of their differences.

 

“caerus.” he hadn’t heard the name before and looked up to see who it might be, only to find hades staring impassively at him. “you have been immortalized as the god of luck, opportunity, and favorable moments. from here on until the end of time, you are responsible for the prayers and shrines dedicated to you. do not shirk your duties, and you will be rewarded.” he didn’t care much for his title and the duties that came with it.

 

what stuck in his mind was that he now had eternity with mark.

 

hades’ gaze flicked over to mark. “take him to the upper world and teach him.” mark inclined his head thoughtfully, eyes trained on donghyuck. he suppressed a shiver. mark’s eyes were unreadable, even the shine that usually resided in them blacked out. donghyuck stumbled to his feet when mark began to walk out of the throne room, remembering just barely to bow to hades before he followed. the trek was silent, save for the cries of the spirits who had yet to accept their fates, and donghyuck’s thoughts felt both slow as honey and fast as light. he didn’t know where to begin, if he and mark were still the same.

 

that wasn’t true. they weren’t the same anymore. but he hoped that the feelings between them hadn’t changed. after all, what point would living for eternity have if not for mark?

 

“do i need to call you dinlas now?” he asked. it was the least important question he had, but it was safe. easy to ask. mark snorted, the first ungod-like thing donghyuck had seen him do since he had entered the throne room and announced apollo’s blessing. quite ironic that the cause of his mortality became the cause of his immortality.

 

“of course not. unless you like caerus so much better.” he raised an eyebrow and turned back to glance at donghyuck’s reaction. the grimace on his face must have spoken louder than he intended, and mark laughed freely. “i thought as much.”

 

the light of the upper world peaked through the entrance they were approaching, and donghyuck resisted the urge to run into it. it had felt like eons since he’d felt the sun on his skin. mark reached out a hand for him to take, and with only a beat of hesitancy, donghyuck clasped it with his own as they emerged into the upper world.

 

it was truly a breath of fresh air, he mused, to be free from the desolate clutches of the underworld. to be free with mark was another blessing in its own right. to have mark was a monumental gift that he never foresaw, but one that he would accept in a heartbeat. he turned to mark, basking in the light he had missed so dearly, and without a second thought, pulled mark’s face toward his and kissed him. mark’s cool lips pressed against his delicately, stopping himself from pushing too hard and too far. donghyuck became more insistent, and mark gave in and curled an arm around his waist and pulled him closer. he let it continue for only a few more precious seconds before he drew back, surprising mark, and smiled mischievously.

 

“if you want another kiss, you’ll have to find me,” he sang, and in another second, mark was left alone in the meadow they’d been standing in with the echoes of donghyuck’s song.

 

_“why did you try so hard to bring me immortality?”_

 

_“would it be too, as you said, cringe-y to say eternity would mean nothing without you?”_

 

_“yeah, it would.”_

 

_“then i suppose i couldn’t bear to part with you. you were the light i had never experienced in the underworld and the happiness i had only felt in war.”_

 

_“that’s just a little morbid, but it’s the thought that counts. come closer, i want to kiss you.”_

 

_“my sun, i would give a thousand kisses to sate you.”_

 

_“only one for now. we have eternity for a thousand and more.”_


End file.
